A spiral of cruelty and chaosLast Saturday, in a low-key ceremony inside a heavily fortified building in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s transitional presidential council handed power to prime minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé. The prime minister is now the only politician with executive power in a country that has been spiralling downwards into chaos for the past five years. Armed gangs control almost 90 per cent of the capital and violence has spread to other parts of the country, diminishing the state’s capacity to deliver basic services. The nine-member transitional presidential council was established in 2024 as the top executive body after Ariel Henry, the prime minister appointed by Moïse, lost control. Transitional presidential council member Leslie Voltaire told Fox News last week that the return of up to 400,000 people would leave Haiti helpless.

Source: The Irish Times February 11, 2026 13:57 UTC